This invention relates to computers and software, and more particularly to methods and arrangements that provide a plurality of separate and concurrent desktops and workspaces within a shared computing environment.
There are many situations where several people would like to share a single computer. For example, a home may have a single personal computer (PC) that is shared by the family members. If these users desire a unique configuration, privacy, and/or security for their applications and data files, such a shared computing environment may not adequately accommodate them.
For example, with most operating systems, the users share a single workspace. Unfortunately, doing so does not allow personalization of their workspace or security of data between users. In certain operating systems, users may separate their data into multiple xe2x80x9cprofilesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9caccountsxe2x80x9d. One of the drawbacks to this scheme is that if one user is using the computer and a another user would like to access their own files, the first user would have to close all open applications in order for the other user to log on to the system and access their data. Thus, the first user""s application state is lost. In addition to losing the application state, the user is inconvenienced because of the time involved with closing down the prior user""s state and re-establishing the new user""s state.
Certain solutions, such as, for example, the xe2x80x9cIdentity Managerxe2x80x9d available in Microsoft Outlook Express version 5.0, allow certain user data to be shared among separate users without losing all of the application""s states during a user switch. However, the Identity Manager manages only a small subset of the user""s data. Text documents, for example, are not stored separately for each user. Furthermore, there is little workspace personalization available and the user data is not secured for other user access.
Consequently, there is a need for an improved methods and arrangements for use in multiple user computing environments. Preferably, the methods and arrangements will allow for a plurality of separate and concurrent desktops and workspaces within the shared computing environment
The present invention provides improved methods and arrangements for use in multiple user computing environments. These methods and arrangements can be configured to allow for a plurality of separate and concurrent desktops and workspaces within the shared computing environment
The above stated needs and other are met, for example, by a method for use in a multiple user computing environment logon user interface. The method includes creating a separate desktop thread for each user that is authenticated during a logon process, creating a separate desktop associated with each desktop thread, and maintaining a list of desktop threads that are created. In this manner, several users can be logged on simultaneously. In certain implementations, the method further includes establishing a separate user environment associated with each desktop and launching a separate user shell associated with each desktop. The list of desktop threads allows for the selective switching from a first desktop to a second desktop without terminating a desktop thread associated with the first desktop. Indeed, in certain implementations the method includes automatically switching from one desktop to another desktop without terminating the associated desktop threads. For example, this can occur following a configurably defined period of user inactivity. When a user logs off, then the method further includes selectively removing the applicable desktop thread from the list of desktop threads.